Bill Text: NJ A4834 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits party member, candidate, or designee to be present for ballot position draw and inspect materials used for drawing; requires officials conducting ballot draw to provide notice of date, time, and location of drawing.
Spectrum: Unknown
Status: (Introduced) 2024-09-23 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A4834 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A4834-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOHN V. AZZARITI JR., M.D.
District 39 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Permits party member, candidate, or designee to be present for ballot position draw and inspect materials used for drawing; requires officials conducting ballot draw to provide notice of date, time, and location of drawing.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the process for conducting the drawing of candidate names to determine their ballot position and amending various parts of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.19:14-12 is amended to read as follows:
19:14-12. The county clerk shall draw lots in his county to determine which columns the political parties which made nominations at the next preceding primary election shall occupy on the ballot in the county. The name of the party first drawn shall occupy the first column at the left of the ballot, and the name of the party next drawn shall occupy the second column, and so forth.
The position which the names of candidates, and bracketed groups of names of candidates nominated by petitions for all offices, shall have upon the general election ballot, shall be determined by the county clerks in their respective counties.
The manner of drawing the lots shall be as follows: paper slips with the names of each political party written thereon, shall be placed in capsules of the same size, shape, color and substance and then placed in a covered box with an aperture in the top large enough to admit a man's hand and to allow the capsules to be drawn therefrom.
Each political party participating in the drawing of lots shall be entitled to designate a member of the party to be present for the drawing, who shall be entitled to inspect the paper slips upon which the names of each political party are to be written, the capsules in which the paper slips are placed, and the box from which the capsules are to be drawn before the drawing begins, after each name is drawn, and at the conclusion of the drawing. The county clerk shall notify each political party participating in the drawing of the date, time, and location of the drawing not less than 72 hours prior to when the drawing is scheduled to begin.
The box shall be well shaken and turned over to thoroughly intermingle the capsules. The county clerk or his deputy shall at his office, draw from the box each capsule separately without knowledge on his part as to which capsule he is drawing.
The person making the drawing shall open the capsule and shall make public announcement at the drawing of each name, the order in which name is drawn and the office for which the drawing is made.
Where there is but one person to be elected to an office, the names of the several candidates who have filed petitions for such office shall be written upon paper slips and placed in separate capsules of the same size, shape, color and substance. The capsules shall be placed in a covered box with an aperture in the top large enough to admit a man's hand and to allow the capsules to be drawn therefrom.
Each candidate participating in the drawing of lots, or their designee, shall be entitled to be present for the drawing and to inspect the paper slips upon which the names of each candidate are to be written, the capsules in which the paper slips are placed, and the box from which the capsules are to be drawn before the drawing begins, after each name is drawn, and at the conclusion of the drawing. The county clerk shall notify each candidate participating in the drawing of lots of the date, time, and location of the drawing not less than 72 hours prior to when the drawing is scheduled to begin.
The box shall be turned and shaken thoroughly to mix the capsules and the capsules shall be withdrawn one at a time.
When there is more than one person to be elected to an office where petitions have designated that certain candidates shall be bracketed, the position of such bracketed names on the ballot (each bracketed group to be treated as a single name), together with individuals who have filed petitions for such office, shall be determined as above described.
Any legal voter of the county or municipality, as the case may be, shall have the privilege of witnessing the drawing.
The name or names of the candidate or bracketed group of candidates first drawn from the box shall be printed directly below the proper title of the office for which they were nominated, and the name or names of the candidate or bracketed group of candidates next drawn shall be printed next in order, and so on, until the last name or bracketed group of names shall be drawn from the box.
The arrangement of names of any bracketed group of candidates for any office for which more than one are to be elected shall be printed in the same order on the ballot as they were arranged on the petition of nomination.
The drawing for the positions which the names of candidates and bracketed groups of names of candidates, nominated by petition for office, and for the columns which the political parties which made nominations at the next preceding primary election and for the general election shall occupy upon the general election ballot, shall be held at 3 o'clock in the afternoon of the eighty-fifth day prior to the day of the general election.
(cf: P.L.2011, c.134, s.22)
2. R.S.19:23-24 is amended to read as follows:
19:23-24. The position which the candidates and bracketed groups of names of candidates for the primary for the general election shall have upon the ballots used for the primary election for the general election, in the case of candidates for nomination for members of the United States Senate, Governor, members of the House of Representatives, members of the State Senate, members of the General Assembly, choice for President, delegates and alternates-at-large to the national conventions of political parties, district delegates and alternates to conventions of political parties, candidates for party positions, and county offices or party positions which are to be voted for by the voters of the entire county or a portion thereof greater than a single municipality, including a congressional district which is wholly within a single municipality, shall be determined by the county clerks in their respective counties; and, excepting in counties where R.S.19:49-2 applies, the position on the ballot used for the primary election for the general election in the case of candidates for nomination for office or party position wherein the candidates for office or party position to be filled are to be voted for by the voters of a municipality only, or a subdivision thereof (excepting in the case of members of the House of Representatives) shall be determined by the municipal clerk in such municipalities, in the following manner: The county clerk, or the county clerk's deputy, or the municipal clerk or the municipal clerk's deputy, as the case may be, shall at the clerk's office on the 61st day prior to the primary election for the general election at three o'clock in the afternoon draw from the box, as hereinafter described, each card separately without knowledge on the clerk's part as to which card the clerk is drawing.
Each candidate participating in the drawing of lots, or their designee, shall be entitled to be present for the drawing and to inspect the cards upon which the names of each candidate are to be written and the box from which the cards are to be drawn before the drawing begins, after each name is drawn, and at the conclusion of the drawing. The county clerk or municipal clerk, as the case may be, shall notify each candidate participating in the drawing of lots of the date, time, and location of the drawing not less than 72 hours prior to when the drawing is scheduled to begin. Any legal voter of the county or municipality, as the case may be, shall have the privilege of witnessing such drawing. The person making the drawing shall make public announcement at the drawing of each name, the order in which same is drawn, and the office for which the drawing is made. When there is to be but one person nominated for the office, the names of the several candidates who have filed petitions for such office shall be written upon cards (one name on a card) of the same size, substance and thickness. The cards shall be deposited in a box with an aperture in the cover of sufficient size to admit a man's hand. The box shall be well shaken and turned over to thoroughly mix the cards, and the cards shall then be withdrawn one at a time. The first name drawn shall have first place, the second name drawn, second place, and so on; the order of the withdrawal of the cards from the box determining the order of arrangement in which the names shall appear upon the primary election ballot. Where there is more than one person to be nominated to an office where petitions have designated that certain candidates shall be bracketed, the position of such bracketed names on the ballot (each bracket to be treated as a single name), together with individuals who have filed petitions for nomination for such office, shall be determined as above described. Where there is more than one person to be nominated for an office and there are more candidates who have filed petitions than there are persons to be nominated, the order of the printing of such names upon the primary election ballots shall be determined as above described.
The county clerk in certifying to the municipal clerk the offices to be filled and the names of candidates to be printed upon the ballots used for the primary election for the general election, shall certify them in the order as drawn in accordance with the above described procedure, and the municipal clerk shall print the names upon the ballots as so certified and in addition shall print the names of such candidates as have filed petitions with him in the order as determined as a result of the drawing as above described. Candidates for the office of the county executive in counties that have adopted the county executive plan of the "Optional County Charter Law," P.L.1972, c.154 (C.40:41A-1 et seq.), shall precede the candidates for other county offices for which there are candidates on the ballot used for the primary election for the general election.
(cf: P.L.2023, c.16, s.11)
3. Section 8 of P.L.1995, c.278 (C.19:60-8) is amended to read as follows:
8. The county clerk shall conduct the ballot draw for candidates for school board member in those school districts that hold November elections, in accordance with the procedures set forth in R.S.19:14-12. In those school districts that elect school board members at the annual April school election, the ballot draw shall be conducted as follows:
a. The drawing shall be done by the secretary of the board of education seven working days following the last day for filing a petition for the nomination of such a candidate. The person making the drawing shall make public announcement at the drawing of each name, the order in which the name is drawn and the term of office for which the drawing is made.
b. A separate drawing shall be made for each full term and for each unexpired term, respectively. The names of the several candidates for whom petitions have been filed for each of the terms shall be written upon paper slips which shall be placed in capsules of the same size, shape, color and substance and then placed in a covered box with an aperture in the top large enough to admit a person's hand and to allow the capsules to be drawn therefrom. The box shall be turned and shaken thoroughly to mix the capsules and the capsules shall be withdrawn one at a time.
c. Where there is more than one person to be elected for a given term of office, the position of the names on the ballots for each term of office shall be determined as above described. The name of the candidate for each term of office first drawn from the box shall be printed directly below the proper term for which the person was nominated and the name of the candidate next drawn shall be printed next in order, and so on, until the last name shall be drawn from the box.
d. Two or more candidates for any given term of office may notify the secretary of the board in writing or the county clerk if the annual school election is to be held in November, at least seven days before the drawing date that they wish to have their names with their chosen designation, if any, bracketed together, so that their names and designation, if any, are selected as a group at the drawing and their names and designation are printed together on the ballot. The candidates shall determine among themselves the order in which their names are to appear within the bracket prior to so notifying the secretary.
The secretary of the board of education shall, within two days following the drawing, certify to the county clerk the results of the drawing.
e. Each candidate participating in the drawing of lots, or their designee, shall be entitled to be present for the drawing and to inspect the paper slips upon which the names of each candidate are to be written, the capsules in which the paper slips are placed, and the box from which the capsules are to be drawn before the drawing begins, after each name is drawn, and at the conclusion of the drawing.
The secretary of the board of education shall notify each candidate participating in the drawing of lots of the date, time, and location of the drawing not less than 72 hours prior to when the drawing is scheduled to begin.
(cf: P.L.2018, c.20, s.3)
4. This act shall take effect January 1 next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that each candidate for election, or their designee, is entitled to attend the drawing for ballot position in the primary, general, or school board election in which they are a candidate. In the case of a general election where the ballot position for each political party is determined by drawing lots, the bill provides that the political party is entitled to designate a member to be present for the drawing.
The person, whether it be a candidate, their designee, or the designated member of a political party, will be entitled to inspect the cards or paper slips on which the candidate names are written, any equipment in which those slips or cards are placed, and the boxes from which the names are ultimately drawn before the first drawing, after each sequential drawing, and at the conclusion of all drawings.
Under the bill, the appropriate government official will be required to notify the candidate or political party of the date, time, and location of the drawing at least 72 hours prior to when the drawing is scheduled to begin.
